Chapter Text
Conner should have expected that Young Justice wouldn’t always be the same. It’s a fact of life that everything changes. For some reason his thoughts never caught up with his brain that that also applied to him.
At first, it was just a new person hanging around the tower. His name was Robin and he was Batman’s protege. They butted heads often, with Robin’s bossy nature and Kon's more stubborn one.
Robin irritated Kon to a degree he didn’t know was possible. The constant nagging drilled into his head over and over made him want to poke himself with kryptonite.
Hell, he’d probably take poking himself with kryptonite over this.
“Honestly, I can’t believe you’d be so reckless! It’s like every time I look over at you you’re doing something so impossibly stupid I can’t even—“ He started to tune Robin out, just barely keeping his hands from making an annoying mimicking motion. He can be immature sometimes sure, but he isn’t quite there yet.
He had fucked up a mission. He knew that, by all of Rao yes he knew! They were fighting a group of aliens and one had sprayed him in the face with acid, temporarily blinding him. Before he could clear it off his face though, Cassie yelled for back up. He panicked and crashed directly into her, nearly knocking her into another hoard of aliens. He was already beating himself up over it when Robin—per usual—had to butt in and make it worse. Kon started to tune back in to see where exactly he was in his lecture.
“—And you don’t listen! Jesus- You’d think it’s impossible to just listen to instructions!” Kon immediately tuned back out with a scoff.
He floated absentmindedly off the ground, not paying attention. That was, until Robin snapped in his face. Anger and irritation flickered underneath his skin.
“I know! You don’t need to keep lecturing me because I know. Maybe you should focus on yourself in the field because I’m pretty sure I saw you trip on your own cape.” Kon snapped, getting up in the boy wonder’s face. Robin flushed slightly, though Kon couldn’t tell if it was because he was angry or embarrassed.
Before Robin could say anything else though, Kon flew off angry and bothered. If Robin could just mind his own damn business for once maybe he’d be more like able. Cassie, apparently, disagrees strongly. As well as Bart, and Cissie. So basically everyone except him.
“He’s not that bad Kon. Stop being dramatic, he just wants what’s best for the team.” Cassie says.
“He actually gives pretty good advice when you stop and listen.” Bart says. Kon can’t possibly imagine a world where Bart of all people stops and listens.
Cissie gives it to him straight. “I think you’re being an asshole because he was appointed leader instead of you. Get it together.” Harsh, and Kon refuses to admit she’s slightly factual in her assessment.
But most of all it was about the sudden change. It used to be him and the team, the team and him. Now, it’s him and the team… Plus Robin. In a weird, possessive way, he thought his friends were being taken from him. What if they decided they like Robin more? What if Robin ended up as the main person they went to when they needed a laugh? What if he was being replaced? What if he was being replaced by a guy who didn’t even trust them enough to show his face or tell them his name?
Kon’s sulking is interrupted by a knock on his door. Cassie probably wanted to borrow another one of his shirts. He sighed and got up, dragging his feet on the way to open the door.
Robin stood in the doorframe awkwardly. His hands fidgeted before he decidedly put them behind his back. He stared at Kon for a moment, but as he was about to slam the door in the shorter boys face he stepped in the room.
Robin cleared his throat. “Would you like… To spar with me?”
Kon blinked. Once. Twice. Then,
“Why the fuck. Would I want to spar with you?” Kon spat. Robin visibly repressed a flinch, looking even more awkward. He shuffled his feet before stilling.
“Dunno. You seemed really angry. When I’m angry I spar with someone. Maybe we can work this out?” Robin smiled hopefully, a lopsided grin that showed off his snaggle tooth. It wasn’t cute goddammit. Kon was still mad at him.
He wanted to say the words, “get the fuck out of my room.” He wanted to say, “absolutely not” He wanted at the very least to be able to say “no” or simply shut the door on the other boy's face. What words actually came out of his mouth were;
“…I’ll spar with you.” As he stared angrily at the floor. Robin perked up instantly and walked out of the room, not even looking to see if Kon was going after him, the arrogant asshole! Kon stared down the hallway with which he went for a moment before following.
Robin took a sudden sharp turn to the training room. He entered the large arena, finally looking back at Kon and smiling. He gestured to the weapons rack while taking his Bo staff out at the same time.
“I don’t need a weapon to kick your ass, bird boy.” Kon scoffed indignantly. He gave the other boy a cocky smirk. Robin shrugged and smirked right back, twirling his Bo staff as he did so.
“Your funeral.” He sang lightly. All of a sudden, Kon’s feet were swept off the ground. He landed on the ground with a grunt. The bewilderment at being caught off guard made it harder to glare up at the other boy. Robin held his hand out for Kon to grab. Instead, he shoved himself up and off the floor and smacked Robins hand away.
“That was cheating.” Kon scowled at him, NOT crossing his arms because he was not a baby. He didn’t pout, even if Cassie might beg to differ. Robin simply smiled at him again, before settling in a more professional position across the mat from Conner. He cleared his throat and quirked a brow. Conner could read it for what it was, a silent; ‘are you ready this time?’ Kon positioned himself in a similar way before nodding begrudgingly.
Robin twirled his Bo staff effortlessly again before striking swiftly. This time, however, Kon was prepared. He blocked it but his triumph quickly diminished when he wasn't fast enough to block the next oncoming hit right after. Instead of the Bo staff cracking against his skin, Robin's hands hit again and again. It did no damage, of course. His TTK was too advanced by now for that, easily protecting him. Still, it was the principle of the matter. Without his powers, Robin would easily be beating him right now. Kon summoned up some of his superstrength to push Robin back, just a bit. Robin cursed and backed away. He dodged over and over again, Kon's strikes never hitting. The taller boy began to grow frustrated, wondering why the other boy was no longer attacking.
"Whatsa matter Wonder Boy? You scared or someth—" The words, as well as the air, whooshed from his chest with an 'oof' noise when Robin suddenly charged forward, effectively silencing him. Kon stumbled and Robin took his chance, once again attacking over and over again. That one damned stumble was all it took, his barrage of jabs and punches and slaps forcing him to the floor. Robin picked him back up and shoved him against the wall, pinning him with his Bo staff by the forearms. Just like that, the fight was over. Robin smirked in his face victoriously.
"Gotcha" Robin said, bending down to whisper in his ear, panting ever so slightly. A shiver ran up Kon's spine and an involuntary blush made itself known on his face. He realized that he was panting a bit too. He looked away and grumbled. Robin just chuckled, releasing him. Kon fell forward, the weight of Tim's strength no longer holding him up.
He sat down, arms resting on his knees while he processed what just happened. He had never seen a human move that fast, and he likely never would again. Robin's fighting was so unique to himself, another thing he'd never seen before. Of course he'd witnessed Robin fighting, but never up close. He was also never on the receiving end. The dodging to get an enemy distracted, to find that one weak point and take advantage of it. To release blow after blow 'til the enemy stumbled and then claiming his victory with a smug satisfaction you only see when one outcome is expected.
Robin sat down next to him, mimicking his position as he gulped from a water bottle. Kon tried not to stare at the way Robin's Adams apple bobbed up and down as he drank. When he finished, he offered up the bottle with a tilt of the head. Kon hesitated, staring at the bottle before taking it and stealing a few sips. Robin hummed in approval.
"Your powers are quite something, aren't they?" Robin said, interest laced through his voice. Kon snorted.
"Clearly not if you can beat me that easily." Kon responded flatly. Robin only hummed again, though this time Kon noted he couldn't get a read on how he was feeling. He looked away.
"I've been doing this for longer than you've been alive, so it's not unexpected." He looked amused, but it was hard to tell through the mask. Sweat dribbled down his face. Robin swiped at it with his arm, and Kon tracked the movement subconsciously. They both fell silent, staying like that for a bit. It wasn't an uncomfortable silence. It was entangled with contentment and rest. All good moments, however long or brief, do have to end at some point.
Robin sighed and stood up, holding out his hand for Kon to take. Unlike last time, Kon grabbed his hand and allowed Robin to pull him up. The shorter boy flashed him that same stupidly cute lopsided grin, with the snaggle tooth poking out.
"As much as I enjoyed this, I bet the teams waiting for us, so we ought to go." Robin turned to walk out but stopped briefly in his tracks. "We'll do this again sometime, yeah?" He spoke aloud before walking out before he could get a response. Kon's feet stayed planted, staring after the other boy with a creased brow.
"Yeah" Kon echoed, "Some other time." After a minute or two, Kon soon followed, tracing the path back up to his room.
When he shut the door behind him, he found himself even more confused than he was when Robin first appeared at the entrance to his room. The scenes of before replayed in his head on a constant loop as he contemplated. He gave up trying to figure out Robin eventually. He slid down his door into a sitting position with a groan, letting his face fall into his hands. Robin was an enigma, one he could not solve.